Jade Cocoon 2, I stole this off of my cousin when I was 12 and have cherished it since. I just like it's simple, cute storyline and the addictive monster collecting.

I did something kind of like that with all my NES games although it was less me stealing them from him and more me borrowing them from him and then he got sent to jail for underarm firearm possession and theft in the mean time and now he's a registered sex offender.

...

Yey!

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o/` I do not feel joy o/`o/` I do not dream o/`o/` I only stare at the door and smoke o/`

Valkyrie Profile - first one is amazing, second one killed my memcard, so i stopped playing itLunar - they're fun and cheesy games, more of a nostalgia trip, but I adore them, avoid the DS one.Wild Arms - I couldn't get into the 3rd one, the rest are top notch.Grandia - The first one is fun, the second one is ok, the third is crapShin Megami Tensei - This series might be considered too "hardcore" and WRPGish than most JRPGs, except for Persona, I adore the series myself. Persona 3 is a good entry point.Kingdom Hearts - Disney + Square-enix + Nomura + Hikaru Utada + Weeaboos, = crap Tales of - They're a great series of games if they ever come out here ><Vagrant Story - Great game, more of an action RPG thoughXenogears - Amazing game, with uber long cutscenes, Xenosaga is subpar though.Breath of Fire - played the 3rd one, lost interest in the rest.Skies of Arcadia - great game :)Dragon Quest - great game series albeit a little to grindy for my taste.

I would also try WRPGs such as

Baldur's Gate - Great seriesPlanescape Torment - One of the best storylines in a game EVERIcewind Dale - I couldn't get into this for some reason.

since you mentioned 2 Bioware games I recommend trying the followingMass Effect - Alot more arcadey, but an AMAZING story and setting.Dragon Age - Baldur's Gate reborn.Jade Empire - Martial Arts based action RPG, a bit short though.Knights of the Old Republic - Great game in the star wars universe

And alsoDeus Ex - possibly one of the best games ever(the first one, the second one is good).

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"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."~Malcolm X

I notice that Thoren recommended Anachronox. If you do try that one, be sure to download both official and both fanmade patches or the game will run terribly. With the patches, the game runs great. It's my personal favorite JRPG.

One of the things to keep in mind too is that while DQ really shouldn't be played with the "attack attack heal" strategy. Not that it requires being careful as much as, say, a MegaTen probably does, but for the most part status ailments and even instant death attacks can be VERY useful.

Not even that, not unless you either suck or managed to get yourself in a bad predictament. Some points that COULD involve grinding only really need a willingness to accept a death and retry, namely almost all of the bosses with two forms such as

Code:

Dhoulmagus.

You're likely worse off if you just reloaded most of the time anyway, so long as you've been good about depositing money in your bank you'll usually have more of both EXP and gold upon respawning at the church.

No grind ? Every 10 seconds or less there's a random battle. Plus you have so little gold to buy stuff. Unless you had a guide to know what to mix to create better weapons you had to grind.

Or not worry about keeping your equipment top of the line.

I only ground a few times and for the most part I felt like doing so rather than being forced to in order to progress the game. Also, I don't count the battles you'd normally encounter upon going from point A to point B "grinding", you're actually making progress then rather than running in circles for the sake of getting more powerful. Not that you can't instead cite overly long dungeons or an excessive encounter rate, but at worst it's the type of "grinding" almost every RPG's guilty of anyway.